Domestic Abuse Heats Up Weekend

Arrests Keep Court Officials Busy On Sunday

For some, the week's end means payday, drinking, drugging - and then the beatings begin.

One-third to one-half of all weekend arrests are for domestic violence-related charges, court and jail officials said.

Sundays at the Palm Beach County Jail's first-appearance courts are the worst days, officials said, with domestic violence cases competing with drunken driving for space on the docket.

"Weekends are very busy, with alcohol and drugs and the people just spending more time together," said Sandy Duncan, manager of Palm Beach County Victim Services.

The county's Victim Services agency receives 6,000 police reports for domestic violence cases a year, Duncan said. The figures are not broken down into weekends and weekdays.

On Sunday, 12 of the 49 defendants at the jail's morning first appearance court were charged with domestic violence-related charges. The bulk of the cases involved men accused of beating their wives or girlfriends.

Dwain Eric Wallace, of Loxahatchee, was there because he and his girlfriend Maria Wallace apparently got into a brawl over her brother. Both of them were arrested, but Maria Wallace was released without charges filed.

Dwain Wallace told the judge his girlfriend started the fight. "I was just trying to get away," he said.

Dwain Wallace's version of what happened was his girlfriend charged him with a frying pan and beat him on the head with it.

"His head had several bumps on it. He was bleeding from a cut on his right hand [several stitches needed)," the arrest report said.

"His shirt was torn almost completely off and he had scratches on his chest and neck. He also said she took a hammer and hit him with it about his body and then began to smash windows, knickknacks and a TV screen. He said he did wrestle the frying pan from her and hit her with it. He then got into his car and left."

Her version was: "She awoke to an argument between Dwain and her brother, Paul. She went to intervene, at which time Dwain punched her. She said she did hit him several times and then she said he hit the fan," the arrest report said.

Circuit Judge Thomas Sholts asked Dwain Wallace if he had some other place to live than the house he owned with his girlfriend. "The main thing I want to do is keep you two apart," Sholts said.

But Maria Wallace wanted to waive the no-contact provision, the court's victim liaison said. She wanted the judge to order her boyfriend to attend Alcoholics Anonymous twice a week. "She's the victim," Sholts said and did as she asked.

Since a Jan. 17 administrative order, domestic violence defendants cannot bail out of jail without first appearing in court. At the hearings, victims may ask for an injunction against further contact even if it means moving out of a shared house. But, many victims waive the no-contact provision.

On May 28, Memorial Day weekend, County Court Judge Robert Parker expressed frustration as case after case of domestic violence came before him and many of the victims wanted their accused assailants back home.

Parker told Jennifer Turner, 20, of Lake Worth who had been punched in the face in a Lake Worth parking lot that he didn't understand why she waived the no-contact provision. The woman had a split lip and a cut on her neck, and police officers had to pull the man off her, the arrest report said.

"I don't understand a woman who puts up with this kind of violence and takes the man back," Parker said in court. "Maybe one of these days we'll send her to the morgue."

Turner's response was to thank the judge for sending back home boyfriend Karl Davis, 35, of Lake Worth. On June 2, Davis pleaded guilty to domestic battery and was sentenced to six days in jail with credit for time served.

Battered women often think the violence was their fault or try to minimize the severity of their situation, experts said. It often takes years or near death before the problem is dealt with.

Assistant State Attorney Ted Booras, who heads misdemeanor prosecutions, said when he took over the division 21/2 years ago, driving under the influence made up the bulk of their caseload.

That is no longer true. "I would say anywhere from 30 to 50 percent of our caseload is now from domestic violence," Booras said.

When Booras worked a weekend rotation as the prosecutor at the jail's first appearance court, he saw for himself how horrible the weekends could be for domestic violence victims. Prosecutors pull a weekend rotation every 1 1/2 years because of the size of the staff.

"It was the 14th, it was Mother's Day weekend and I was just so angry," Booras said.

Booras said only a fraction of the domestic battery cases go to trial, but nearly half of those are tried without the victim's cooperation.

"It's not as hard as people think," Booras said. "If I have photos, great. 911 tapes are excellent. What we need is the statement from the victim at the scene. What the victim said to police can be admitted at trial even if she doesn't want to testify," he said.